1. Field of the Invention
This invention is in the field of farm implements.
2. Description of the Prior Art
International Harvester Company, 401 North Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois 60611, produces the farm implement known as International 815 Combine. The combine may be used as a grain cutting machine or as a pick-up machine. Likewise, it may be used as an efficient corn harvesting machine. The combine includes a separator for the purpose of separating the cut grain from the cut plant. The separator includes a rotating cylinder spaced apart from a concave screen frame.
Frequently, when harvesting a crop, a variety of foreign objects, such as stones, will be swept into the combine and conveyed upwardly toward the separator. Various types of stone retarders such as small fences are provided within the combine to reduce the number of stones reaching the separator. Nevertheless, many stones may eventually reach the separator and cause damage thereto. The previously mentioned rotating cylinder is spaced a relatively small distance apart from the concave frame in order to trap the crop therebetween and separate the cut grain from the cut plant. For example, the cylinder may be spaced apart from the concave frame by a distance of one-sixteenth of an inch to 1-1/2 inches. Thus, when a large stone passes therebetween the stone will damage the normally immovable concave frame and rotating cylinder. Crop combines are quite expensive costing tens of thousands of dollars. Likewise, the various components required for a crop combine are both expensive to procure and to install. I have therefore devised a new and improved mounting structure for the concave frame to allow the frame to resiliently move away from the cylinder whenever a hard foreign object such as a stone becomes trapped therebetween thereby preventing damage to the cylinder or concave frame.